A Boy and His Ice Cream...

A cold day during Christmas break did not keep us from enjoying a nice scoop of cold stuff from Salt and Straw.  Lauren, Maddi and Aunt Britt had never been before so we made a trip down.  It kills me that we wait in line for more than 30 minutes for a Vanilla cone, but the look on this boy's face and the excitement to be with family is well worth the wait.  He's cute and he knows it!

He's 2!

This sweet boy turned 2!  How does that happen, when I feel like I just had a baby? But we have come a long way from those darn 20 minute naps he took as a baby(thankfully). Having a birthday party a few days after Christmas is a bit tricky and since he still doens't quite understand the whole birthday thing yet we surrounded him with family and some homemade cupcakes and celebrated our favorite little guy. Is it sad that he did not get one present? I am sure I won't be able to get away with that for much longer.

Here are a few of his favorite things:

• pancakes and lucky charms
• church and fishies
• daddy and reading books
• Elmo, Mickey and Minnie
• Being outside riding his scooter   
• Getting his back rubbed
• Saying "Bye" and "See Ya"

 

Naughty or Nice...

Check out this crew! The same costumes get put out each year and parts get rotated based on size, well except for maybe Halle and Maddi! It's crazy that my nieces and nephews are becoming adults and my kids are the babies of the bunch.  

I think from the kids loot its safe to say they were nice this year.  Zach got his long awaited ipod, Kate her American Girl Doll, Isabella, and Ryan a Train Table, among other things. Christmas of course really isn't about the gifts we recieve but the reactions they had this year were a highlight. Ryan discovered that unwrapping gifts was pretty fun. 

I love Christmas because it brings family together, and its a great reminder for me to focus on what's really important in this life, and that is love. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He put a plan in place to help us return to Him again.  And He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to set a perfect example for us in showing us how we can. And even though we can remember Him always its nice to have a Season and a specific Holiday to dedicate to remembering Him.      

Alpenrose Holiday Show...

Kate had the opportunity to dance at the historic Alpenrose Dairy Opera House over the holidays with her performing company.  Their show was entitled, Dance through the Decades.  She did an amazing job! She had 4 dances that she had to remember. I thought for her first performance she might forget something, but she didn't miss a beat. Lots of family and friends came to support her. And what a fun new family holiday tradition this became this year.   

Grandma and Grandpa Thompson 

 One of her best friends Emmy

Cousin Heath

 

  Us

  The Cousin Crew

 Oh Kyle!

This is a video from their practice but still gives you a good idea of what it was like.

Bonny Slope Choir...

Zach joined the school choir this year and loved it! I have been wanting him to try something that has to do with music for a couple of years now, so I was thrilled when he came home excited to participate.  It helped that some of his close buddies joined too!  They had a concert for family and friends and sang all sorts of holiday tunes, his favorite being Jingle Bell Rock.  

He's 10!...

Wow, where does the time go? 10 years old.  It really does start to go fast, and life never slows down enough for me to realize what has passed. This year we celebrated with family at Grandma's house with ice cream cake and later celebrated with school friends with a party at Sky High Sports.  I think its safe to say that Zach had an unforgettable birthday this year.  

The boys had endless trampolines to jump around on and yet they hung out in the dodge ball court most of the afternoon. Competative much? They were all such good sports and all had a great time.  Zach has made some wonderful friends.  A few of his friends' little sisters came to keep Kate company too.  And Ryan was in heaven bouncing all over the place.  

Oh Christmas Tree...

Come rain, snow or shine we were determined to find the perfect tree! Justin picked this year's winner, our tallest yet.  It was a little disastrous when while sawing the tree down it toppled over on top of Ryan. Luckily he survived with a few tears.  The pine needles got the best of him.  Poor guy, he wasn't the biggest fan of Santa either. It just wasn't his day.  The big hot ticket Dear Santa items this year was a puppy for Kate and an ipod for Zach.